In the Middle Ages, the Mediterranean was the site of cultural interaction between Western Europe, the Islamic world, and the Far East. Trade, including the lucrative Silk Road traffic, war, and the diffusion of scholarship all contributed to significant crossfertilization of ideas. This course will focus on literary texts that reflect the meeting of East, Middle East, and West in the years between 1000 and 1500. Reading will include both the Middle English and Persian versions of the Alexander romance, Floire and Blanchflor, Chrétien de Troyes, Cligès, selections from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim poetry, Aucassin and Nicolette, Marco Polo’s Travels, and stories from The 1001 Nights. (Group III) (Writing Option)